The ̤Íè of the ²¦¼¼¤Î Mail is not just a »öÊÁ for the ¸½ºß¤Î owners, says ALEX BRUMMER

As keepers of the ±ê¾å of ²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê market capitalism, one can understand À¯ÉÜ¡Çs ÉÔËÜ°Õ to become ȼ¤¦¡¿´Ø¤ï¤ëd in °ú¤­·Ñ¤®¡¿Çã¼ýs.

The notion that the ¡ò3.5billion ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ð by Czech sphinx Daniel Kretinsky ¡Æis ºÇ½ªÅª¤Ë a »öÊÁ for the ¸½ºß¤Î owners¡Ç is away with the birds.

One only has to look at the Èá»´¤Ê µ­Ï¿¡¤µ­Ï¿Åª¤Ê¡¿µ­Ï¿¤¹¤ë of privatised ¸ø¶¦»ö¶È¡ÊÎÁ¶â¡Ë¡¿Í­ÍÑÀ­s that have fallen into overseas or »äŪ¤Ê ¸øÀµ¡¤ÉáÄ̳ô¼ç¸¢ ¼êÅϤ¹s to know that ¼êÅϤ¹ing the ½ÅÍפÊs of the ²¦¼¼¤Î Mail¡Çs ¹ñÆâ¤Î and European (n)´ÏÂâ¡¿(a)ÁÇÁᤤ to a mysterious Czech ²¯ËüĹ¼Ô can only lead to ¶ìÄË for stakeholders.

It is Ê¿°×¤Ê for any Æþ»¥¼Ô to Ìó« to ¤¬¤Þ¤ó¤¹¤ë by the regulatory »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ës such as the Á´À¤³¦¤Î¡¿Ëü¹ñ¶¦Ä̤ΠService µÁ̳ (USO).

»Ü¹Ô¤¹¤ëing them once ½êÍ­¸¢ has ž´¹d overseas is a different »öÊÁ.

Uncertain future: Royal Mail-owner International Distribution Services is poised to accept a takeover offer worth ¡ò3.5bn from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky

Uncertain ̤Íè: ²¦¼¼¤Î Mail-owner International ÇÛÅö Services is ¶Ñ¹Õ¤òÊݤä¿ to ¼õÂ÷¤¹¤ë a °ú¤­·Ñ¤®¡¿Çã¼ý ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ð ²ÁÃ͡ʤ¬¤¢¤ë¡Ë ¡ ò3.5bn from Czech ²¯ËüĹ¼Ô Daniel Kretinsky

À¯ÉÜ also needs to recognise that stakeholders, the Á´Ï«Æ¯¿Í¸ý, ¸ÜµÒs, Whitehall, the °ÂÁ´ services and many others have a keen Íø±×¡¿¶½Ì£ in what happens to the ²¦¼¼¤Î Mail.

Its flaccid ÊÖÅú was a sharp »×¤¤½Ð¤ÎÉÊ of events a £±£°Ç¯´Ö ago when America¡Çs Pfizer ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ for AstraZeneca.

The ¨ºÂ¤Î ÊÖÅú of ¡Ê¥É¥¤¥Ä¤Ê¤É¤Î¡Ë¼óÁê¡¿¡ÊÂç³Ø¤Î¡Ë³ØĹ George Osborne and others was ¡Æbring it on¡Ç. If that had happened, Astra¡Çs ¿ÊÊâ to become the most valued company in the FTSE 100 would have been stymied.

There is so much about the Kretinsky approach that we don¡Çt know. Where does his wealth µ¯¤³¤ë¡¿»Ï¤Þ¤ë?

Is this going to be a ¼è°ú¡¤¶¨Äê paid for with structured ÉéºÄ and what will it mean for ̤Íè Åê»ñ in the ͹ÊؤΠservice?

Will Kretinsky want his image on stamps and ÃÏ°Ì¡¤Ç¤Ì¿¤¹¤ë boxes?

ºâÀ¯¡¿¶âÍ»ing is ÈãȽŪ¤Ê. One only has to look at Thames Water to recognise that the goal of greedy overseas owners is to Ãê½Ð¤¹¤ë cash while the going is good and Ĺ¡¤Î¨¤¤¤ë for the hills when it all goes wrong.?

The ½Ðȯ of Michael McNicholas, of Canadian ǯ¶â ´ð¶â Omers, from the board symbolises the ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë-and-run ±Æ¶Á.

²¦¼¼¤Î Mail will have to pass several regulatory ¾ãÊÉs. If the ¹ñ²È¤Î °ÂÁ´ and Åê»ñ ¹Ô°Ù¡¿Ë¡Îá¡¿¹ÔÆ°¤¹¤ë, passed under Tory »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ë, were doing its stuff, the ¼è°ú¡¤¶¨Äê would be Éõº¿¤¹¤ëd at the first ¾ã³²Êª.

At the time of privatisation, the À¯ÉÜ ¸ú²ÌŪ¤Ë took on ÀÕǤ¡¿µÁ̳ for a ǯ¶â ´ð¶â which swings wildly between ÀÖ»ú and ¹õ»ú¡¿²á¾ê.?

Whether taxpayers should be ¶¯¤¤¤ëd to take on this ´í¸± should »ÙÇۡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÅýÀ©¤¹¤ë pass to an foreign owner would need to be ÌÀ¤é¤«¤Ë¤¹¤ëd.

Ofcom¡Çs ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë for the USO, which ´Þ¤às a more pricey but reliable first class service, needs to be ®¤¯ ´ï¶ñ¡¿¼Â»Ü¤¹¤ëd.

The Kretinsky ¼è°ú¡¤¶¨Äê must be Éõº¿¤¹¤ëd on public Íø±×¡¿¶½Ì£ grounds. ²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê marketeers must understand that there are ¶­³¦s which should never be crossed.

¡ÊÈȺá¤Î¡Ë°ìÌ£ing changes

The ÃÏ°Ì¡¤Ç¤Ì¿¤¹¤ë Office¡Çs former relation BT, spun off in 1981, also has a ²¯ËüĹ¼Ô on its ³ô ÅÐÏ¿¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë.

The French-Israeli telecoms Âç·¯ Patrick Drahi Áý²Ã¤¹¤ëd his ²Ð·º¡¿ÅÒ¤±¤ë to 24.5 per cent a year ago and there has been endless ²±Â¬ that, together with another big ³ô¼ç Deutsche Telecom, it too could be a ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ Ū.

BT is moving to ²óÉü¤¹¤ë ³ô¼ç ¿®ÍÑ¡¿¿®Ç¤ after a °ì¶èÀڤ꡿¡Ê¥Ü¥¯¥·¥ó¥°¤Ê¤É¤Î¡Ë»î¹ç of short-selling. Boss Allison Kirkby is making big ·èÄ꡿ȽÄ꾡¤Á¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës.

She is pulling »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë from Á´À¤³¦¤Î services at a cost of ¡ò488million but will concentrate on UK ´ë¶È and growing income from °ÂÁ´.?

More efficient roll-out of broadband should lower the cost of the ÀÀÌó¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë to ¶¡µë¤¹¤ë ½½Ê¬¤Ê fibre broadband to 25m À¤ÂÓs by 2026.

A cash flow Ìó« of ¡ò1.5billion in 2025 against ¡ò1.3billion has been put in place and the ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅö ²ò½ü¤¹¤ëd. Kirkby and chairman Adam Crozier have more than a passing Íø±×¡¿¶½Ì£ in how the ¶¯½±¡¤¶¯´¯ on ²¦¼¼¤Î Mail ºîÉÊ out.

²¦¼¼¤Î ¹ÈĬ¡¿Å¦È¯¤¹¤ë

Just as ²¦¼¼¤Î Mail is ¶¼¤¹d, the ¹ñ²È¤Î Portrait Gallery fights »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë with an Ÿ¼¨ of pictures of members of the ²¦¼¼¤Î Family from the last hundred years.

The Ÿ¼¨¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë ´Þ¤às the ¡Ædiamond dust¡Ç Andy Warhol º·É¤Î°õ to Queen Elizabeth II and the 40th birthday portrait of the Princess of ¤à¤Á¤ÎÀ×s.

The message: don¡Çt dare touch the King¡Çs best profile on our postage stamps.